Covid-19 pandemic, New Mexico health restrictions led to smaller crowds at Elephant Butte

ELEPHANT BUTTE, New Mexico – The Covid-19 pandemic continues to hit Elephant Butte Lake hard.

New Mexico has banned overnight camping at the state park, and restricted access to state residents only.

This cut in half the number of people visiting the lake, which is an easy two-hour drive from El Paso. Typically, 45,000 to 55,000 people visit New Mexico’s largest lake over Labor Day weekend.

That’s all changed this year, with rangers, business owners and visitors saying the pandemic continues to have a major impact.

Usually, beaches are packed with campers, tents and house boats.

This year, visitors are much more spread out.

“You got to be more careful,” a park ranger said. “You can’t do a lot of things we used to do.”